Cleric Scholar Writer Castilian conquest & the Moriscos1492–1610

Hernando de Talavera

Lived c. 1430–1507 (about 77 years)

Also known as: Fray Hernando de Talavera

Hernando de Talavera was a Hieronymite friar born around 1430. He joined the order in 1466 and was Queen Isabella's confessor by 1475. Appointed archbishop of Granada in January 1493, he learned Arabic himself and encouraged his clergy to do the same. He died on 14 May 1507.

For context, read about the Moriscos of Granada and the Treaty of Granada and its broken capitulations. Read the full story.

The full story

Hernando de Talavera, first archbishop of Granada, in Hieronymite habit teaching a small group of Morisco boys by candlelight in a Granada study

Hernando de Talavera: The Archbishop Who Learned Arabic

Hernando de Talavera, Granada's first archbishop, learned Arabic, ran a school for Morisco boys and kept the 1491 terms. Why his gentle method fell short.

Read the full story

In their time

Castilian conquest & the Moriscos

1492–1610
Boabdil handed Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella on 2 January 1492, after a siege whose camp became the town of Santa Fe. Enrique Egas drew a Gothic plan for the cathedral in 1518 and building began in 1523. Diego de Siloé, master builder from 1529, changed it into Spain's first fully Renaissance cathedral, with a circular capilla mayor.
1. Monastery of San Jerónimo
  
  1504 Monument
  
  San Jerónimo holds the tomb of the Great Captain in a Renaissance church completed in 1522, with a carved altarpiece and gilded ceilings of exceptional quality.
2. Royal Chapel of Granada
  
  1504 Monument
  
  Isabelline Gothic chapel with the tombs of Isabella I and Ferdinand II. The sacristy holds royal regalia and paintings by Memling, Botticelli, and Bouts.
3. Monasterio de la Cartuja
  
  1516 Monument
  
  Founded in 1516 by El Gran Capitán, La Cartuja's sacristy is one of Spain's most ornate Baroque spaces — marble inlay, gilded altars, and near-total silence.
4. Granada Cathedral
  
  1523 Monument
  
  Granada Cathedral in Spain took 181 years to build from 1523, blending Gothic foundations with a Renaissance interior of five naves and a gilded dome chapel.
5. Mirador de San Nicolás
  
  1525 Monument
  
  Free 24-hour viewpoint in the Albaicín with unobstructed Alhambra views and the Sierra Nevada as backdrop. Crowds peak at sunset; early morning is far quieter.
6. Count of Tendilla
  
  c. 1440–1515 Historical figure
  
  Íñigo López de Mendoza, Count of Tendilla, governed the Alhambra from 1492 and died in 1515. Find his trace on the Alhambra hill and what to read next.
7. Isabella I
  
  1451–1504 Historical figure
  
  Isabella I of Castile, queen 1474–1504, chose Granada for her tomb in 1504. Her life in brief and where her trace survives in the Royal Chapel and the city.
8. Ferdinand II of Aragon
  
  1452–1516 Historical figure
  
  Ferdinand II of Aragon co-ruled with Queen Isabella through the Granada War, which ended on 2 January 1492, and is buried in the Royal Chapel of Granada.
9. Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
  
  1453–1515 Historical figure
  
  Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, the Gran Capitán, helped arrange Granada's surrender in 1492 and died near the city in 1515. Where his trace remains in Granada.
10. Pedro Machuca
  
  c. 1490–1550 Historical figure
  
  Pedro Machuca, the Toledo-born architect and painter who designed the Palace of Charles V in the Alhambra from 1527. Where to see his work around Granada.
Go deeper
- Conquest and Moriscos